Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless networks, and more specifically to determining transmission rates when transmitting parallel data streams from a wireless station of a wireless network.
Related Art
A wireless network generally includes two or more wireless stations capable of communicating with each other on a wireless medium. Wireless networks may also include switches such as access points (AP) or router nodes in the communication path between wireless stations. Electromagnetic radiation in the atmospheric space is used as the basis for the wireless communication, as is well known in the relevant arts.
A data stream contains an ordered sequence of packets, which are generated by applications executing in a wireless station. An application can generate multiple data streams, though different data streams being generated by different applications is more common Each data stream generally needs to be transmitted by the corresponding wireless station such that the packets eventually reach another application executing in another wireless station.
Two data streams are said to be parallel when there is a requirement to transmit packets in each stream according to the sequence order, but the applications at either end do not impose specific requirement on how the packets from the two streams are otherwise interspersed in the combined transmission sequence. The transmission sequence is generally determined based on factors such as any applicable QoS (quality of service) requirements (e.g., aggregate bandwidth to be allocated to each application, latency acceptable, etc.).
Wireless stations often transmit each packet with a corresponding transmission rate, which is one of several transmission rates the wireless station is capable of transmitting at. Transmission rate is measured as the number of bits transmitted in a unit time (typically a second). A higher transmission rate often implies more transmission throughput, but can be susceptible to errors. However, lower transmission rates can lead to enhanced power consumption due to the longer duration taken for completion of transmission.
Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to determining transmission rates when transmitting parallel data streams from a wireless station of a wireless network.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.